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The Pearl QUOTES

The Pearl QUOTES

1 " It was a morning like other mornings and yet perfect among mornings. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

2 " We do know that we are cheated from birth to the overcharge on our coffins. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

3 " The people say that the two seemed to be removed from human experience; that they had gone through pain and had come out on the other side. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

4 " She gathered some brown seaweed and made a flat damp poultice of it, and this she applied to the baby's swollen shoulder, which was as good a remedy as any and probably better than the doctor could have done. But the remedy lacked his authority because it was simple and didn't cost anything. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

5 " They had spoken once, but there is not need for speech if it is only a habit anyay. Kino sighed with satisfaction -- and that was conversation. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

6 " Porque se dice que los humanos no se satisfacen jamás, que se les da una cosa y siempre quieren algo más. Y se dice esto con erróneo desprecio, ya que es una de las mayores virtudes que tiene la especie y que la hace superior a los animales que se dan por satisfechos con lo que tienen. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

7 " He had said, "I am a man," and that meant certain things to Juana. It meant that he was half insane and halfgod "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

8 " A plan once made and visualized becomes a reality along with other realities- never to be destroyed but easily to be attacked. Thus Kino's future was real, but having set it up, other forces were set up to destroy it, and this he knew, so that he had to prepare to meet the attack. And this Kino knew also- that the gods do not love men's plans, and the gods do not love success unless it comes by accident. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

9 " It was supposed that the pearl buyers were individuals acting alone, bidding against one another for the pearls the fishermen brought in. And once it had been so. But this was a wasteful method, for often, in the excitement of bidding for a fine pearl, too great a price had been paid to the fisherman. This was extravagant and not to be countenanced. Now there was only one pearl buyer with many hands, and the men who sat in their offices and waited for Kino knew what price they would offer, how high they would bid, and what method each one would use. And although these men would not profit beyond their salaries, there was excitement among the pearl buyers, for there was excitement in the hunt, and if it be a man's function to break down a price, then he must take joy and satisfaction in breaking it as far down as possible. For every man in the world functions to the best of his ability, and no one does less than his best, no matter what he may think about it. Quite apart from any reward they might get, from any word of praise, from any promotion, a pearl buyer was a pearl buyer, and the best and happiest pearl buyer was he who bought for the lowest prices. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

10 " They were students of the expressions of young women as they went in to confession, and they saw them as they came out and read the nature of the sin. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

11 " For it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more. And this is said in disparagement, whereas it is one of the greatest talents the species has and one that has made it superior to animals that are satisfied with what they have. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

12 " Luck, you see, brings bitter friends. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

13 " He said, "I am a man," and that meant certain things to Juana. It meant that he was half insane and half god. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

14 " It is not good to want a thing too much. It sometimes drives the luck away. You must want it just enough, and you must be very tactful with Gods or the gods. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

15 " A plan is a real thing, and things projected are experienced. A plan once made and visualized becomes reality along with other realities—never to be destroyed but easily to be attacked. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

16 " She knew she could help him best by being silent and by being near. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

17 " He had said, "I am a man," and that meant certain things to Juana. It meant that he was half insane and half god. It meant that Kino would drive his strength against a mountain and plunge his strength against the sea. Juana, in her woman's soul, knew that the mountain would stand while the man broke himself; that the sea would surge while the man drowned in it. And yet it was this thing that made him a man, half insane and half god, and Juana had need of a man; she could not live without a man. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

18 " This was an evil beyond thinking. The killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat. For a boat does not have sons, and a boat cannot protect itself, and a wounded boat does not heal. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

19 " For every man in the world functions to the best of his ability, and no one does less than his best, no matter what he may think about it. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl

20 " But now, by saying what his future was going to be like, he had created it. A plan is a real thing, and things projected are experienced. A plan once made and visualized becomes a along with other realities-never to be destroyed but easily to be attacked. "

― John Steinbeck , The Pearl